One source tells The IND Huebner’s departure was “a cumulative thing,” citing long-running tensions between the veteran newsman and management as well as between Huebner and fellow news staffers.

Some IND readers will recall a 2009 month-long hiatus by Huebner — an absence that was characterized as an extended “family leave,” although media insiders throughout the market were aware of Huebner’s sometimes combative approach to in-house personnel issues. A savvy investigative reporter — “they never should have put him on the news desk [as an anchor],” one insider says, citing Huebner’s considerable skills as an investigative reporter who drew on well-cultivated sources — Huebner was said to be frustrated with the lack of experience among staffers in the news department and with the station’s general decline in ratings.